Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Here's the "stencil-style" illustration that uses black and white in a dynamic way -- in a more dynamic way than using a simple silhouette. Use the visual logic of this image -- defining the form with combinations of black and white.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

For the beginning of Tuesday's class, I want to see three worked-out sketches (three alternate versions) working out your visualization from the section of "From Dictatorship to Democracy" that you've been assigned. I want you to have at least three versions so you don't just get stuck on one visual idea -- and also, on Tuesday, when we look at all of your sketches, I'm hoping we might be able to cross-pollinate some of the visual ideas. I can see one concept being applicable to another concept, or perhaps there are "characters" for figures such as the dictator, the resister, etc., that could be applied across several of the ideas.

Here's the list of the sections (by number, corresponding to the numbering on the previous blog post), and who's doing what:

When one wants to bring down adictatorship most effectively and with the least cost then one hasfour immediate tasks:• One must strengthen the oppressed population themselvesin their determination, self-confidence, and resistance skills;• One must strengthen the independent social groups and institutionsof the oppressed people;• One must create a powerful internal resistance force; and• One must develop a wise grand strategic plan for liberationand implement it skillfully.

2. THE "MONKEY MASTER" METAPHOR

A Fourteenth Century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji:

In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keepingmonkeys in his service. The people of Chu called him “jugong” (monkey master).Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeysin his courtyard, and order the eldest one to lead the othersto the mountains to gather fruits from bushes and trees.It was the rule that each monkey had to give one-tenth ofhis collection to the old man. Those who failed to do sowould be ruthlessly flogged. All the monkeys sufferedbitterly, but dared not complain.One day, a small monkey asked the other monkeys: “Didthe old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes?” The otherssaid: “No, they grew naturally.” The small monkeyfurther asked: “Can’t we take the fruits without the oldman’s permission?” The others replied: “Yes, we all can.”The small monkey continued: “Then, why should we dependon the old man; why must we all serve him?”Before the small monkey was able to finish his statement,all the monkeys suddenly became enlightened and awakened.On the same night, watching that the old man had fallenasleep, the monkeys tore down all the barricades of thestockade in which they were confined, and destroyed thestockade entirely. They also took the fruits the old man hadin storage, brought all with them to the woods, and neverreturned. The old man finally died of starvation.Yu-li-zi says, “Some men in the world rule their people bytricks and not by righteous principles. Aren’t they just likethe monkey master? They are not aware of their muddleheadedness.As soon as their people become enlightened,their tricks no longer work.”

3. THE LESSON OF THE "MONKEY MASTER" FABLE:

Dictators require the assistance of the peoplethey rule, without which they cannot secure and maintain the sourcesof political power.

4. DICTATORS' SOURCES OF POWER

• Authority, the belief among the people that the regime is legitimate,and that they have a moral duty to obey it;• Human resources, the number and importance of the personsand groups which are obeying, cooperating, or providingassistance to the rulers;• Skills and knowledge, needed by the regime to perform specificactions and supplied by the cooperating persons andgroups;• Intangible factors, psychological and ideological factors thatmay induce people to obey and assist the rulers;• Material resources, the degree to which the rulers control orhave access to property, natural resources, financial resources,the economic system, and means of communication andtransportation; and• Sanctions, punishments, threatened or applied, against thedisobedient and noncooperative to ensure the submissionand cooperation that are needed for the regime to exist andcarry out its policies.

If these sources of power can be severed, the dictator's power will be weakened.

5A. SEVERING POWER SOURCES: AUTHORITY

Acts of symbolic repudiation and defiance are among the availablemeans to undermine the regime’s moral and political authority— its legitimacy. The greater the regime’s authority, the greaterand more reliable is the obedience and cooperation which it willreceive. Moral disapproval needs to be expressed in action in orderto seriously threaten the existence of the dictatorship. Withdrawalof cooperation and obedience are needed to sever the availability ofother sources of the regime’s power.

Acts of symbolic repudiation and defiance

5B. SEVERING POWER SOURCES: HUMAN RESOURCES

A second important such source of power is human resources,the number and importance of the persons and groups that obey,cooperate with, or assist the rulers. If noncooperation is practiced bylarge parts of the population, the regime will be in serious trouble.For example, if the civil servants no longer function with their normalefficiency or even stay at home, the administrative apparatus willbe gravely affected.

noncooperation

5C. SEVERING POWER SOURCES: SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Similarly, if the noncooperating persons and groups includethose that have previously supplied specialized skills and knowledge,then the dictators will see their capacity to implement theirwill gravely weakened. Even their ability to make well-informeddecisions and develop effective policies may be seriously reduced.

noncooperation of skilled persons

5D. SEVERING POWER SOURCES: INTANGIBLE FACTORS

If psychological and ideological influences — called intangiblefactors — that usually induce people to obey and assist the rulersare weakened or reversed, the population will be more inclined todisobey and to noncooperate.

reversal of psychological and ideological influences

5E. SEVERING POWER SOURCES: MATERIAL RESOURCES

The dictators’ access to material resources also directly affectstheir power. With control of financial resources, the economicsystem, property, natural resources, transportation, and means ofcommunication in the hands of actual or potential opponents ofthe regime, another major source of their power is vulnerable or removed.Strikes, boycotts, and increasing autonomy in the economy,communications, and transportation will weaken the regime.

As previously discussed, the dictators’ ability to threaten orapply sanctions — punishments against the restive, disobedient, andnoncooperative sections of the population — is a central source ofthe power of dictators. This source of power can be weakened intwo ways. First, if the population is prepared, as in a war, to riskserious consequences as the price of defiance, the effectiveness of theavailable sanctions will be drastically reduced (that is, the dictators’repression will not secure the desired submission). Second, if thepolice and the military forces themselves become disaffected, theymay on an individual or mass basis evade or outright defy orders toarrest, beat, or shoot resisters. If the dictators can no longer rely onthe police and military forces to carry out repression, the dictatorshipis gravely threatened.

resistance and subversion of army and police support

6. SOURCES OF DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION

One characteristic of a democratic society is that there exist independentof the state a multitude of nongovernmental groups and institutions. These include, for example, families, religious organizations,cultural associations, sports clubs, economic institutions, tradeunions, student associations, political parties, villages, neighborhoodassociations, gardening clubs, human rights organizations, musicalgroups, literary societies, and others. These bodies are importantin serving their own objectives and also in helping to meet socialneeds.

7. DEMOCRATIC POWER AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO STATE POWER

Combined with political defiance during the phase of selective resistance,the growth of autonomous social, economic, cultural, andpolitical institutions progressively expands the “democratic space”of the society and shrinks the control of the dictatorship. As the civilinstitutions of the society become stronger vis-à-vis the dictatorship,then, whatever the dictators may wish, the population is incrementallybuilding an independent society outside of their control.

Nonviolent intervention, by psychological, physical, social, economic,or political means, such as the fast, nonviolent occupation, andparallel government (41 methods)

11. THE NEED FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING

A plan to achieve thatobjective will usually consist of a phased series of campaigns andother organized activities designed to strengthen the oppressedpopulation and society and to weaken the dictatorship. Note herethat the objective is not simply to destroy the current dictatorshipbut to emplace a democratic system. A grand strategy that limitsits objective to merely destroying the incumbent dictatorship runsa great risk of producing another tyrant.

12. DRAFTING OF CONSTITUTION

The new democratic system will require a constitution that establishesthe desired framework of the democratic government. Theconstitution should set the purposes of government, limits ongovernmental powers, the means and timing of elections by whichgovernmental officials and legislators will be chosen, the inherentrights of the people, and the relation of the national government toother lower levels of government.

Monday, April 4, 2011

This Tuesday, we'll look at your completed "appropriated footage" project. Next up, we'll be doing a project based on Infographics.

By Thursday's class, I want you to have chosen what data you are going to turn into an infographic. Your treatment of the graphic can be whimsical, but the data must be real. The data can be useless and ridiculous -- it can be data that you yourself generate (for example, how many calories you consume in an average day could be data), but it must be real. Come prepared with a sketch suggesting your idea for visualizing your data.